For those that may not have seen the thread in the General Discussion section, Mazda has new coils for the 8 - part #N3H1-18-100A 9U. They appear to be on back order currently.

Wonder if we can find out what is different.

 

Changing coils affects the timing. so unless they're the same value or a minor change in performance you would have to use them with the ECU they were made for.

Perhaps they found they had a bad supplier and they were causing malfunctions in the 8.

Even though the coils are the same from a new supplier, they may want to issue a new part number so they can track performance and diagnose problems in the field. Example car has problem "X" with old coil part number then assume it's defective and replace with new part number.
Car has problem"X" with new coil part number look for other items causing the problem, like ECU, MAF, cable connections.

It could even be the same supplier but using better ground/insulation/ what ever to stop the problems we have been seeing. With a new part number it's easier to spot what may be wrong.

There has been alot of discussion as to whether the 8's coils are good or bad.
Remember we are now being taken care of with white gloves from Mazda. Maybe they found the problem, addressed it and have now fixed it!

 

Possible marbles cure?

 

very good point, but they cold do all this and still make them more durable. I would think that if they are going to isue new coils, they would be better, just like the spark plugs.

 

A couple of points:
1.a part no with -9U at the end usually means it is sourced in North America.I will check it out tomorrow.Note we have seen very few coil problems(less than other models).It must be the hot temperatures in the South and West.

2.There are NO NEW spark plugs!!!the spark plugs being installed for the recall are NGK RE7C-L---same plug as before.What has changed is the part no (0ld part no N3Y8-18-110 and new part no is N3Z4-18-110) and the price---new part no is approximately 25% of the cost of the old part no(up here anyway).This means that Mazda pays the dealer much less mark up on the recall parts

 

I live in New England and I had bad Coils. I have a 2004 with a low VIN.


They were replaced with the part number in the inital post above.

I no longer here that rattle noise at 6k rpm when revving hard. I guess that was the marble sound?

Car seems to be more responsive.

Just got my car back today and will see how they hold up... I have heard that marble sound since owning the car... 2 years now.. Apparently that marble sound is misfiring.

 

so you are saying the coils control the timing????? dont know much, but a coil fires a plug... the ecu controls the timing... a coil may of may not be compatable with the rx8 but it does not control the timing...

wow.

beers

 

i have a 04 with 55k miles on it and never had an issue with the coils... i have a new motor, but no coil issues...

beers

 

the issues with the coils and the timing is how consistent the coils are as far as executing the timing the ECU sends to them. since they are not all going to perform equally, the computer has to compensate kinda like the way our fuel trims work. Jeff found this out when he switched over to the AEM twin fire system.

 

just wanted to post these as an alternative for anyone in need of new plugs... i'm thinking of picking them up myself... u could find info in the definitive "grounding kit" thread...

 

Exactly. The dwell time of the integral ignitor determines when the actual spark event will occur.

 

Interesting...Took mine (44k on odo) on a 300 mile trip two weeks ago when i began to hear this marbles noise spoken of. Shortly thereafter she died--coils burned slap up. I'm going to have to check and see if I got these new ones, since the noises are now gone, obviously.

 

had my car for a week and the problem of power loss and bad idle came back.

Dealer redid the road test and it failed again.... Waiting to hear the official word on my car, hopefully I will hear something tomorrow.

New coils didn't do the trick...

 

I just ordered a set of the new coils to try out, since they are so cheap, I figure what the hell, I haven't had any issues that I know of with them, but I have take the car to the track and with all the ECU testing I give them a workout.

I'm going to properly ground them also for good measure.

 

For those who don't know, Speedsource had a tech session at Sevenstock and the coils came up. They use the stock coils in their 2 rotor car. They did mention that they need to be very well grounded and that they have a good supply of power. They found issues with them burning up if these weren't addressed properly. They have no issues with the stock coils. Keep in mind they also use them in a naturally aspirated engine and not under boost. For boosted applications I'd always upgrade them.

 

can someone please post the best location to ground the coils to???
it seems to be a hot topic lately, but i'd really like to know the absolute best way to do this...

 

if you look behind the engine near the oil filter you'll see a little ground spot with four little black wires attached. Those are the grounds for the coil packs. I was looking at an engine this weekend at 7stock and it was clearly visible. it might be a little bit of a pain to get back there but you'd want to ground that point to the battery directly.

Some have gone as far as grounding each wire on the coil plugs to the battery as well, but the above will go along way.

 

thanks!
i currently have a daisy chain grounding kit on my 8. i would like to ground the coils, but would like to know if i need to be consistent & connect the new wire b/w two points on the existing chain or if it would be ok to run it straight to the battery. obviously, i have no electrical knowledge whatsoever...

 

as I understand it, the more direct the better. I ground my alternator and coils straight to the battery.

 

thanks!
i would go straight b/c that's what i've heard is the best also... i just want to make sure that it won't do some electrical damage or something... just want to clarify whether or not it's ok either way...
anybody???

 

the new ones seem to have abettter ground from the get go. i have "proof" of this atr the moment- only a few conversations involved in or listened to at 7stock. speedsource was asked about coil life on their cars and they again said they were having some issues before they found them a better ground. but since have had none. i believe the only reason mazda would call the new ones "more robust" is because they have fixed issue following speed sources lead....

 

I got the new coils in today, I'll install them and ground them tomorrow and see if I notice a difference. The pics that jeff posted in this thread

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...&highlight=AEM

show some serious burn spots, I'm not sure if these new coils have the same plastic on the bottom or not, but I'll be curious to see what mine look like.

 

I'm curious whether coil problems might be a contributing factor to some of us getting misfire CELs at the track...?

 

Mine looked the exact same as the older units. Back is black and shiny.

 

I installed the coils over the weekend and I'm still waiting for the PCM to settle back in after resetting everything. Car drives fine, I didn't really notice any improvements but my stock coils looked to be in pretty good shape with only a slight "burn spot" on the bottom.

I have tracked the car hard once and done all kinds of dyno and ECU testing, so one would think I have stressed them pretty good.

I grounded the "coil ground" near the oil filter to the battery, but I haven't yet grounded each coil individually. hopefully these guys will give me trouble free operation for a long while to come.